Silvertip Golf Resort
8:00pm – midnight
Dance to the sounds of the Valley Winds Big Band and guest band The Midnight Blue Jazz Band.
Dance tips by guest instructor Hazel Anderson. Cash Bar, snacks or you can join us for the special three course dinner at Rustica Steakhouse.

Tickets (Dance only) $30, Dinner and Dance $70
Available at O’Canada Soapworks or from any Valley Winds Member – 403-678-9962

Being a real estate professional in Canmore, Alberta allows me to work with wonderful clients from all over the world. About 10 years ago I got a call from a person in his 60’s, with a very definite French accent. Francis asked if I could meet with him and help him sell his condo.

My client had been employed in Calgary for a number of years and enjoyed his time in our mountains immensely. Just before retiring Francis bought a new townhouse in Canmore so he could also call Canmore home as well as his residence in France.

For several years, even after our sale in 2004, Francis would visit Canmore. While he walked with a definite limp and a cane some days, he would leave first thing in the morning for a full day of X Country skiing at Lake Louise. This was one of his favorite spots. We would meet on each visit to Canmore and have a coffee.

I lost contact with Francis back in late 2009 when I stopped sending out a newsletter. Just last week, I received a note via email. It said:

“Very happy to receive news and photos from Canmore.I am too old and too weak for a journey to re-visit your marvelous country, but it remains my best souvenirs.

Have a nice new year.”

Francis

Every time I read these few words, I get a tear in my eye. I will miss Francis.

The long awaited Elevation Place will open in Canmore in 2013. The municipal complex, which cost $39 million, will offer an aquatic center, fitness rooms, climbing gym, meeting space and a library. Since the center may only be accessed by Railway Avenue, it will also bring an increase in traffic.

As of yet there are no traffic signals at said corner, which means longer waits for those wanting to turn left into the complex. It is expected that the traffic lights at Railway and Main Street, and Railway at the Bow Valley Trail will help somewhat.

The Town of Canmore decided against putting new lights at the center entrance. They were considered, but it was thought another set of lights would make things even more complicated because of the nearness of the other two lighted intersections. Andy Esarte, manager of that city’s engineering services, noted that a pedestrian crossing, signal controlled, some 75 meters southwest of Elevation Place would give pedestrians a safe access route.

Esarte did note that cars turning left into Elevation Place would not have an easy time of it, and that solutions would be looked at in the future. That future may come sooner than expected, since the city has already heard complaints from an Esso Station across from Elevation Place. No doubt other businesses will chime in about the difficulty faced by drivers as they try to enter the complex.

The heat wave being experienced across much of Canada is keeping fire fighters on their toes. Heavily forested British Columbia is no exception. One large blaze in the Kootenay National Park has been labeled the Octopus Mountain blaze. As of the early hours of August 16th the fire had consumed 80 hectares of forestland.

Parks Canada is watching this blaze closely because the area is adjacent to the Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. Currently the agency has two helicopters and fire crews keeping an eye on the fires. Efforts are being coordinated with B.C. Wildlife Management and B.C. Provincial Parks.

Fire communications officer Julie Millen noted the crews are looking for specific trigger points in order to complete a plan of containment. Firefighters are being helped by some light rain brought in by a cold front that is keeping the fire localized. But with that cold front comes the threat of lightning strikes which could cause additional fires. The Octopus Mountain Blaze was started by a lightning strike. The forecast predicts lightning storms through this coming Sunday.

Travelers driving along Highway 93 South and in Sunshine Village, about 20 kilometres away to the northeast, may see smoke. Millen noted that at present no structures are threatened except for one cabin belonging to Parks Canada. A sprinkler system has been set up to protect it. Parks Canada has also closed trails in the Simpson Creek and Lachine basins as a precaution. Anyone planning on visiting the area should check the websites for Parks Canada or the B.C. Provincial Parks for the latest on the fire, road and trail closures.

Octopus Mountain got its name from photographer and surveyor Robert Daniel McCaw in 1913. He was working on what would become the Banff-Windermere Highway, or Highway 93 South, part of the Great Circle Tour of national parks throughout Canada and the United States.

Canmore is grizzly bear country. If you happened to forget that fact, the bears are there to remind you. An off leash dog was chased by a bear on one of the town’s nearby trails and it’s the second time bears have been in the news in recent weeks. That prompted Conservation officers to issue warnings for the area around the residential development of Peaks of Grassi and several local trails.

Among the trails on the list are Riders of Rohan, Highline and the trail that skirts the power lines overlooking Quarry Lake.

The latest incident happened this past Monday at roughly 7:30 in the evening. What is believed to be a grizzly chased a dog that was with a mountain biker for about 100 meters. Neither man nor dog was injured.

Glenn Naylor, with Alberta Parks noted that dogs must be kept on a leash when in an area that is prime bear habitat. Naylor noted that this bear learned that dogs are threatening and can and/or should be chased. Chances are that bear will do the same with another dog.

When out in bear country it is best to travel in a group, make lots of noise and carry bear spray. Dogs must be on a leash and under control. The bear warning will be in effect indefinitely. Just three weeks prior a female grizzly and her three cubs were relocated to northern Alberta. They were too acclimatized to humans and could not be discouraged from visiting Canmore neighbourhoods.